Companies with more than $10 million in assets and a class of equity securities that is held by more than 500 owners must file annual and other periodic reports, regardless of whether the securities are publicly or privately traded. Up until March 16, 2009, smaller companies could use Form 10-KSB. If a shareholder requests a company’s Form 10-K, the company must provide a copy. In addition, most large companies must disclose on Form 10-K whether the company makes its periodic and current reports available, free of charge, on its website. Form 10-K, as well as other SEC filings may be searched at the EDGAR database on the SEC's website.

In addition to the 10-K, which is filed annually, a company is also required to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Information for the final quarter of a firm's fiscal year is included in the annual 10-K, so only three 10-Q filings are made each year. In the period between these filings, and in case of a significant event, such as a CEO departing or bankruptcy, a Form 8-K must be filed in order to provide up to date information.

Unlike the 10-K filed annually, other forms serve related purposes, but have different schedules. Form 10-Q, much briefer, is filed after each of the three quarters that do not have a 10-K filing. Form 8-K covers special material events that occur between 10-K and 10-Q filings.

A substantial number of firms filed their 10-K as a Form 10-K405 during the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade). A 10-K405 is a 10-K where the Regulation S-K Item 405 box on the cover page is checked. Due to confusion in its application, the 10-K405 was eliminated in 2002.

Historically, Form 10-K had to be filed with the SEC within 90 days after the end of the company's fiscal year. However, in September 2002, the SEC approved a Final Rule that changed the deadlines to 75 days for Form 10-K for "accelerated filers"; meaning issuers that have a public float of at least $75 million, that have been subject to the Exchange Act's reporting requirements for at least 12 calendar months, that previously have filed at least one annual report, and that are not eligible to file their quarterly and annual reports on Forms 10-QSB and 10-KSB. These shortened deadlines were to be phased in over a three-year period, however in 2004 the SEC postponed the three-year phase in by one year. In December 2005, the SEC created a third category of "large accelerated filers," accelerated filers with a public float of over $700 million. As of December 27, 2005, the deadline for filing for large accelerated filers was still 75 days, however beginning with the fiscal year ending on or after December 15, 2006, the deadline was changed to 60 days. For other accelerated filers the deadline remains at 75 days and for non-accelerated filers the deadline remains at 90 days. For further reading, see the Final Rules [1] section of the SEC's website, referencing Rule 33-8644.

This describes the business of the company: who and what the company does, what subsidiaries it owns, and what markets it operates in. It may also include recent events, competition, regulations, and labor issues. (Some industries are heavily regulated, have complex labor requirements, which have significant effects on the business.) Other topics in this section may include special operating costs, seasonal factors, or insurance matters.

Here, management discusses the operations of the company in detail by usually comparing the current period versus prior period. These comparisons provide a reader an overview of the operational issues of what causes such increases or decreases in the business.

Here, also, is the going concern opinion. This is the opinion of the auditor as to the viability of the company. Look for "unqualified opinion" expressed by auditor. This means the auditor had no hesitations or reservations about the state of the company, and the opinion is without any qualifications (unconditional).

Five percent ownership refers to companies or individuals who hold at least 5% of the total value of the stock of a public company. They usually are founders of the company or large mutual fund companies, and because of how much stock they own, they usually have access to the board of directors of the company and hold significant sway over the company.